Overview
The Business Development and Ventures organization at Microsoft is responsible for driving growth across all Microsoft products by setting corporate strategy and identifying and executing high impact strategic partnerships, corporate venture investments, and acquisitions.
Windows powers over 1.4 billion monthly active devices globally, making it the world’s most widely used desktop operating system with scale and enduring relevance across consumers, enterprises, and developers. Windows sits at the center of Microsoft’s strategy and ambitions across AI, productivity, creativity, search, gaming, and devices.
The Windows & Devices Business Development team leads strategic partnerships that drive growth and device share, working across ISVs, silicon partners, OEMs, MSPs, and emerging device categories. Partnering closely with product, engineering, and go to market leaders, the team enhances product value, unlocks new business models, accelerates partner-led innovation, and helps position Windows as the platform of choice for new, AI-first experiences.
We are seeking a Senior Business Development Manager with strategic instincts, commercial acumen, and a passion for building and scaling ecosystems. This role will develop partnership strategies and compelling value propositions, drive partnerships, structure and negotiate agreements, and advance initiatives from concept through execution in a fast-moving environment, all in support of growing the W+D business.
This role reports to the GM of Business Development for Windows + Devices and partners closely with leaders across Product, Engineering, Finance, Business Planning, Corporate Development, Legal, and Product Marketing.
Our team is deeply collaborative, embraces experimentation, highly motivated, and learns from every outcome. Success in this role means navigating ambiguity, building trusted relationships, and driving strategic impact across a dynamic, cross functional environment.
Responsibilities
Deal Management/ Governance
Collaborates with customers, partners, and Microsoft colleagues to develop post-deal governance and ensure design, communication, and alignment in creation and implementation of execution plans across a portfolio of deals within a particular domain.
Ensures customers and partners are prepared for implementation.
Develops Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to demonstrate achieved business value.
Troubleshoots complex issues and course corrects as appropriate. Articulates alternatives to blockers across a body of deals to develop consistent deal negotiation policy and drive application of scalable resolutions.
Develops plans for managing deals, including communications, and reporting with Microsoft stakeholders. Resolves blocking issues using known techniques.
Microsoft Strategy Alignment (Product Insights and Innovative Projects/Pilots)
Creates practices that enable partners to influence the product. Progresses product improvement by collecting, collating, and triaging partner feedback that identifies potential gaps and areas of opportunity within products.
Improves operations of existing programs by applying industry methodology and innovation, defining complex program issues, assessing various scenarios, and selecting the optimal scenario to resolve issues.
Identifies and scopes opportunities to develop new programs and improve current ones and independently provides feedback to help identify process improvement areas.
Identifies and provides solutions to root problems (e.g., root-cause analysis), defines the program strategy, gathers program requirements, identifies resource needs, creates the project plan and targets, and works across teams to align on the plan of record.
Microsoft Strategy Alignment (Stakeholder Engagement and Deal Diligence)
Collaborates with internal teams and business units to cultivate strategic relationships and leverage internal resources.
Manages and cultivates relationships with leaders of internal teams and builds executive relationships (e.g., Sr. Directors, GM-level), and supports other team members in building stakeholder engagement.
Identifies and organizes repeatable opportunities to share signals on Microsoft products and services to benefit internal stakeholders.
Contributes as a key member of the deal team and assesses opportunities to engage with Microsoft during investment diligence process and contributes to the creation and maintenance of existing thesis areas over time, building relationships with stakeholders.
Negotiation
Leads deal opportunities across deal stages (e.g., Strategic Approval (SA), Approval to Negotiate (A2N), Final Go-no-go (FGNG))
Represents Microsoft in key customer and partner interactions and recommends deal structures, leveraging experience to articulate key deal terms.
Collaborates proactively to close opportunities and scale the business. Identifies opportunities for customized approaches.
Identifies negotiation scenarios and manages executive escalations.
Manages stakeholders to gain consensus and ensure internal alignment.
Partner & Customer Focus
Articulates the value of Microsoft solutions in the context of the customer's perspective, leveraging knowledge of customer and partner business priorities and/or drivers and anticipating changes and actions to influence decision making, identify opportunities, and influence the product roadmap.
Leverages internal and external network to develop new strategic relationships with senior business and technical decision makers. Develops relationships as a trusted advisor for a particular line of business. Provides industry insights internally.
Partnership Strategy
Formulates partnership strategy for products and businesses with input from relevant stakeholders.
Manages pipeline by identifying, promoting, prioritizing, guiding, and influencing processes that develop and deliver on pipeline opportunities and optimize resources to better deliver including preparing information for reporting to key stakeholders, identifying key stakeholders and reporting. Prepares information for reporting to key stakeholders, including synthesizing key work for executive consumption.
Executes and applies value propositions, amending the framework as appropriate to create partnerships with customers and partners. Influences internal stakeholders and partners and promotes the value of opportunities.
Positions the Microsoft value proposition versus competitors and works with stakeholders to influence the build/buy/partner decision to meet customer needs, leveraging knowledge of Microsoft and customer issues in conjunction with product/industry teams to establish a foundation for future opportunities in competitive situations through collaboration.
Provides insight on industry and/or competitive trends and drives action based on insights.
Identifies and collaborates with a diverse set of stakeholders to develop plans to source deals that target high-priority gaps across technology, product, business, and/or geography.
Identifies opportunities and strategy and maps target customers/partners. Utilizes quantitative data (e.g., usage, revenue) to inform internal and external decisions. Provides input into recommendations on partners.
Qualifications
- Bachelor's Degree in Business, Liberal Arts, Sciences, or related field AND 5+ years relevant work experience (e.g., investment banking, consulting, finance, marketing, corporate strategy, sales, venture capital, legal, business development, product management, project management, software development, or related field) OR equivalent experience.
Additional or preferred qualifications
Bachelor's Degree in Business, Liberal Arts, Sciences, or related field AND 7+ years relevant work experience (e.g., investment banking, consulting, finance, marketing, corporate strategy, sales, venture capital, legal, business development, product management, project management, software development, or related field) OR Master's/Advanced Degree in Business, Sciences, or related field AND 5+ years relevant work experience (e.g., investment banking, consulting, finance, marketing, corporate strategy, sales, venture capital, legal, business development, product management, project management, software development, or related field) OR equivalent experience.
6+ years experience in the technology industry OR in a technical role (e.g., IT, Engineering).
Business Development IC4 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $106,400 - $203,600 per year. There is a different range applicable to specific work locations, within the San Francisco Bay area and New York City metropolitan area, and the base pay range for this role in those locations is USD $137,600 - $222,600 per year.
Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. Find additional benefits and pay information here: https://careers.microsoft.com/us/en/us-corporate-pay
This position will be open for a minimum of 5 days, with applications accepted on an ongoing basis until the position is filled.
Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, citizenship, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, immigration status, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran or military status, race, ethnicity, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable local laws, regulations and ordinances. If you need assistance with religious accommodations and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application process, read more about **requesting accommodations.**